ThE LoVe GaMe
by LollipopCloudsandHoneyTyphoons
Summary: Karin is a hyper active, crazy, game addicted teenager that seems to be followed by all sorts of trouble! On a regular day in Tokyo, she suddenly finds herself trapped inside of a video game where the only way out is in! In order to complete the game, she has to rescue the 8 Rune knights, who seem to all be apart of.. her future? Future Lemons, of course.
1. Chapter 1

_**I had this idea in my head at least about a few months ago... I decided to think more about it recently, and then the ideas just started flowing.. I HAD to write it down. **_

_**This story is centered around various, random video games I've played recently, so they may sound kind of familiar to you guys. (Btw..I have a whole lot of story ideas planned for Fanfiction, so... I'm just going to keep making new stories. That doesn't mean I won't have time for my other ones, I'll just make a schedule to update them all one by one.)**_

_**:) Enjoy this new story by me! Review, please!**_

_**I imagine the song "Tetris" playing the entire time of this chapter. It sets the mood.**_

_**This chapter is basically the prologue - the real fun starts in the next chapter.. This one is still important to read , though, so you'll understand what the heck is going on, but enjoy! Review as soon as you're done reading, I have to know if you like it or not!**_

~ d-.-b~

* * *

"Karin... there's something I've been wanting to tell you."

_Oh, my god! Yes! Last lap, I gotta stay in 3rd place at least!_

"Well.. we've been dating for a few months now.. and.. It's not that I don't think you're pretty... you know every boy in school would kill to have you as theirs...I really do think you're a great girlfriend.. And I really like you..."

_Ahh! My coins! Crap, I already had the maximum amount! _

"...but... I met up with someone yesterday... she was an old friend of mine... I gave it some thought when she asked me..."

_Huh! Did he seriously just HAVE to throw a turtle shell at me because I was in first place?! COME ON!_

"... I had a dream about her, and all... and I realized.. I really like her, too."

_Omg, omg, OMG! I'm back in first place! Yes! I might unlock a new Mario character after this!_

"So... I called her earlier today... I... damn, I don't know how to say this... I... I told her I would go out with her."

_Did Sei-kun just say something- Oh! YAY! I got first place!_

Karin Hanazono pulled her 3DS away from her face at arms length and cheered. She sat up from the ground, then stood to her feet, dancing around and laughing victoriously.

"Karin! Did you even hear a word I said?! I'm breaking up with you!"

The hyper active teen stopped cheering mid-yell and turned around quickly to stare at her now ex-boyfriend with her widened, sparkling jade green eyes. A strong gust of wind blew her beautiful platinum blonde hair out of her face as she tried to form words.

"Y... You … _really_...? B-b-but! I thought... I thought it was going _well_!"

"Oh," Seijuro ran his fingers through his spiky, "styled with gel," red hair. "It.. it was, but... you just.. you're never... actually.. _there_... I guess you could say..."

"What do you mean?! I always let you go to those matches I have at the arcade when those fools try to challenge me!" She hurried over to where he was leaning up against a tree and climbed on top of him without thinking and sat in his lap. She hesitated to set her video game down since she was in the middle of another _Mario Kart 7_ race.

She stared up at Seijuro with pleading eyes.

"Please, I... I'll stop playing video games.." she glanced at her 3DS out of the corner of her eye before looking back at him. "..for a certain period of time... but... nolongerthanthreedays.." she said quickly.

Seijuro had been blushing the whole time from Karin straddling his lap and tried to look away from her eyes that he had always thought were seriously beautiful and enchanting.

He couldn't.

"K... Karin, I can't.. I just can't do this anymore. All we ever do is go to the arcade. We haven't even kissed yet... let alone... umm.."  
She stared up at him innocently, making him shift uncomfortably. Perverted thoughts began to flood into his mind and he felt as if he couldn't control them. He would rip off her uniform that she didn't seem to notice was more than a little tight on her and _take her_, if they hadn't been sitting in the middle of a park at that moment.

"Let alone... what? What have we not done that you want to do? I'll do anything!" she wrapped her arms around his neck and he had to fist his hands at his sides to keep his hands off of her intimate places.

"It's fine. You don't have to do anything. I know games are your thing, and you shouldn't change that about yourself. That's another perfect trait of yours.." His golden eyes searched her gorgeous face before pushing a loose strand off of it.

"But.. Sei-kun-"

"It's alright, Karin. You'll find someone else. We both know there are plenty of guys at the high school who-"

"But, Sei-kun, I really do like you... I... I'm sorry my game loving has gotten in the way of our time together, but..."

Seijuro gave her a pained look, "Don't look at me like that.. You're too cute.. you'll make me go crazy."

Karin pouted when he grabbed her gently and pulled her off of him. He stood up and dusted off the back of his pants from the dirt of the ground and turned to look at her, smiling softly.

That was when she started whining and crying like a child – like she always did when she was upset.

"Sei-kun!" she yelled in a high pitched voice, wiping her tears frantically from the rate they were flowing.

"Oh, Karin... I..I'm sorry..." he bent down and placed her game in her lap. Karin took her hands from her face and looked up at him through her tears.

"I have to get home now. I'll see you at school tomorrow, right? I'll be at your next competition!"

He wiped a tear off of her cheek. She even looked pretty crying.

"Please... someone as beautiful as you shouldn't be sad over me."

Karin bit her lip and shook her head. "You don't understand, you were the first guy that ever really treated me kindly – at all times- and you supported me, and you liked me for me, not just because I-"  
"Karin. I.. need to get going. I'm sorry. Bye."

"Oh, Sei-kun.." she wiped the last of her tears away and gave a determined face, standing up and watching him go. "G—get home safe! I promise I'll do my best at the arcade tomorrow! And.. uh... say hello to your new girlfriend for me!"

Seijuro stopped and turned to look at her, smiling. "Thanks."

* * *

Karin opened the door to her house and sniffed. The smell of her mother's cooking made her feel a little bit better, but she had never gone through a break up before- where she was the one being dumped.

"Hey, baby," her mother turned to look up at her from the hot pot on the stove. "Here, come taste the- Oh, my! Are you alright? You look like you've been crying.."

Mrs. Hanazono ran over to her daughter and put her hands on her shoulders.

"I was.. but, I'm fine now."

"Don't tell me... you broke up with Seijuro?!"

"Ahh... well, he broke up with _me._"

"Oh, sweetie.." her mother pulled her into a warm embrace, "I don't know why he would! Besides, you're always the one that breaks up with them first."  
"I know.. he said.. he said he fell in love with an old friend he'd seen recently, and.. and.."

"Ugh. Well... you just forget about him, alright? He wasn't worth it, anyway. Go ahead and wash up, dinner's almost ready."

"Okay.." slowly and solemnly, Karin walked up stairs to her all pink room filled with all kinds of game consoles and decorated entirely in lollipop designs. She gave one last sigh before flopping on her bed.

"So unfair... I really did think we had a good think going."

Forcing herself not to think about it too much, she grabbed her remote and turned on her TV, where she had left one of her games on by accident. She grabbed her game controller and pressed START.

The next day, Karin had skipped cheer leading practice and felt too depressed to go to the arcade. She spent the whole day at school lounging around and gazing out of the window.

"Karin-chan.. did we hear you right?"

"Yeah... you and Seijuro-san had a really good relationship!"

"Why would he break up with you?! You're a seriously nice person!"

"Yeah!"

"Don't worry about it too much, you'll get over him by the next day, I bet!"

"Uhuh, he was an idiot, anyway."

Karin barely even glanced at her friends surrounding her desk. She simply stared out the window at the sky with no clouds. It looked lonely.

Like her.

The thought made her cry again – out loud – in her usual, rather annoying way, causing her friends to slip away quietly.

* * *

Karin was a little surprised to find that her friends had been right. She had forgotten about Seijuro by the end of the day and had returned to her bubbly, crazy, hyper self in no time. When the bell rang, she jumped out of her seat and darted out of the high school.

_I'd go buy another X Box 360, but I think I deserve a few extra hours at the arcade!_

Skipping down the streets of Tokyo, the beautiful 16 year old game addict made her way to the arcade.

Nowadays, she didn't even have to think when she was walking to the arcade. She had been to it so many times, she wouldn't even realize she was going to the arcade until she had put a coin in the game machine.

Throwing open the door, she cheerily exclaimed that she had arrived. Giggling, she breathed in the familiar scent of coins and various cleaning supplies. The sounds of grunts, cheers, cursing, and hands slamming on different game controls reached her ears as she ran through the hallway and toward the center of the arcade.

She stopped and like a lunatic, began twirling around. The arcade was like her second home – it had all her favorite, old, video games, and she could show off her wonderful skills at gaming here. It wasn't unusual for Karin to be challenged by some nerdy kid who's high score had been easily beaten by her, in fact, it was almost every single day.

And she won every challenge and every competition!

She thought it was fun, so she never took anything personal, even how badly she was spoken to when she defeated an opponent...

But that was just the cheerful Karin Hanazono – she never let things like that get her down.

"Hey, look, it's Karin!" a boy with huge glasses and curly red hair framing his face turned away from _Pac-man _and pointed her out to everyone. The bunch of kids either playing games or watching others turned to greet her.

Karin giggled and said hello to all of her good friends at the arcade.

"Hey, did you finish playing that Zombie Slayer game I recommended for the Wii, yet?"

"Man, your last competition against Botan was EPIC!"

"What's your high score at Mario Kart?!"

"There's a new employee here!"

"Ah!They just ordered at new game!"

"What?!" Karin turned to the last voice, her heard racing. It was a kid with spiky blonde hair and big hazel eyes. He smiled and pointed to a game machine taking up the once empty corner of the arcade. A few of the kids were already looking it up and down curiously, but it was wrapped in plastic paper. which made it even more mysterious.

Karin gasped and pushed passed the group of kids surrounding her and raced over to it. Smoothing out the large plastic, she tried to make out the words. Maybe she'd played the game before...

"Ugh... I can't see..." Karin stood on her tippy toes and leaned over to look closer.

She of course, didn't notice the few kids struggling to look up her skirt. Just when they thought they'd see something, a man dressed in the employee uniform pushed passed the group of anxious teens.

"Ah, that's a brand new one. It hasn't even been played yet."

Karin turned to the voice and flushed. The man who had spoken was at least a few years older than her and stood taller than any boy she'd dated in her high school. He was also more handsome than any one she'd ever dated. Through his blue uniform, she could see nice muscles girls at school would kill to either touch or look at.

His hair was dark, spiky, and long, and his flaming, ruby eyes looked her up and down in interest. A devilish smirk crossed his handsome, mature face. Karin felt embarrassed, her cheeks burning.

_It kind of feels like he's undressing me with his eyes...!_

"You must be Karin Hanazono."

"Y... yes.. how did you know?"

"Oh, my co-workers told me to look out for you." he smiled. The group of kids surrounding them slowly broke apart to play their games again.

"Are you the new employee? I haven't seen you before."

He nodded, "My names Kirihiko."

"That's a-" then name sounded strangely familiar. Something tried to get through to her in her mind, something that was a bit like a warning, instinctive feeling. "- nice name. It's great to meet you."  
It was like just talking to him got her into trouble. But how could she trust her instincts when she had only said a few words to him?

"I've been waiting so long meet you."

His voice was low, as if he had known so much about her and was watching her every move the entire time.

"Apparently, you're very popular with the boys wherever you go." he leaned in, examining her face. "I can see why, you are pretty cute, after all." he said before she could get even more frightened.  
Karin blushed again, "Uh... um.. so.. what's this game?"

Kirihiko turned to the game machine and a smile – one that gave Karin goosebumps - crossed his lips.

"Oh. This. I call it... _Various._"

"Various. That sounds – wait, _you _call it? What's that supposed to mean?"  
"I'm the creator, silly."  
Karin's eyes widened and she suddenly became very interested in him.

"Y- you created this?! A game?! Really? No kidding?!"

He nodded, "It was pretty easy. My dad works in this company that tests games, so I met one of the creators and we worked on a game together."  
"Amazing! So, can I play it?"

Kirihiko grabbed the paper and ripped it off. Karin stared at her reflection in the dark screen.

The game machine was black with large, mixed font letters spelling :

"\/ R|0U$"

"What do I do?"

"That's just it. The game is called Various because it's mixed with all kinds of games. The object of the game, however, is to find the 8 rune knights to complete the game. The 8 runes create a special sword you can use to defeat the enemy."  
Karin started jumping up and down with excitement, " I gotta play it! It sounds so fun! I can't wait!"

Kirihiko's arms wrapped around her from behind and Karin flushed.

"K-kirihiko-san-"  
"I'm so _excited_ that you're ready to play my game, Hanazono-san." he said in a low voice, whispering in her ear. Karin felt him press further against her.

"Umm, Kirihiko-san-"

He pushed her closer to the game machine, and she had to put her hands on the edges of it to keep her balance. She felt him press against her from behind and he gripped her form tightly.

"Kirihiko-san! We're in public-" he bit down on her left ear.

"Alright, everyone! It's closing time! Sorry, we had to close a little early. The games keep shutting down, there's some work we have to do on them tomorrow." an employee announced.

Disappointed voices rose in the crowd of kids and soon, the room was emptying. Karin struggled in Kirihiko's arms, but he wouldn't let her go.

"Kirihiko-kun?" a female employee who was gathering her things stopped to stare at them.

Karin tried to signal to her that she needed help, but the girl was a bit too dense to understand.

"Ah, Mako-chan. I'll be locking up. I think you guys need some rest, so leave it to me!"  
"But, Karin-san is-"  
"I'm taking her home tonight, since it's getting kind of dark. Right, Karin-san?"  
".. y..yes." Karin said hesitantly. She was too focused on the game to care much about what he meant.

"Ah. I see.. Bye, then."

Mako had been the last employee to leave.

"Now where alone." Kirihiko whispered in her ear again.

"Mmm hmm! You'll let me play Various, right?!"  
"Of course I will.. You're supposed to be the first person to play it, remember?"

"Yay! This is so exciting!"

"This game is sort of voice activated. You have to say the words 'Game Start' to start."

"Oh! That's so neat! Hee hee!"  
"Go on, say it." his eyes gleamed and he admired her face for a second. Karin gasped when she felt his warm, wet tongue slide across her neck.

"K-Kirihiko-san... that tickles... Stop it.. we haven't even started dating... you can't-"  
"Just ignore me and start the game, Hanazono-san. I'm just admiring your features, is all."

Karin shivered when he bit down rather hard on her ear again.

"Okay, okay!" her heart began to race. She couldn't believe how fun this game sounded. If she started, she was sure she wouldn't be able to stop!

She took a deep breath and stared at her reflection in the glass.

"Game Start."  
The screen turned on, and letters bounded across them, bumping into each other in a silly way before coming together to form the words "Various."

"That's so cute.."

She was so busy adoring the letters that she hadn't noticed her fingers disappearing into mini bytes and entering the screen. When she couldn't feel her hands anymore, Karin looked down and her eyes widened in horror.

"Ahhhhh! What in the world-" her hands were gone, and her arms were slowly disappearing, too! She watched her body disappear and enter the screen. She could see a smaller version of herself forming inside the screen! Karin was being transferred inside of the machine!

"Kirihiko-san! I-"

There was a loud, maniacal laugh behind her, and she felt Kirihiko's arms unwrap from around her waist.

She spun on her heel. Kirihiko was standing across the room, laughing at her.

"You're such a fool, Karin Hanazono. But, then again, you always were. Especially when you were Queen Aphrodite. Such a fool! Enjoy your game. We'll meet again- if you don't die in the first level."

"Kirihiko-san! What's going on?! What's happening to me?!" she screamed, staring at her rapidly disappearing body. She looked up at Kirihiko, who was gone.

She was the only one in the arcade now.

Turning to look at the screen, she saw that from her feet to her chest, she was inside the game. She looked down at the floor to see the process was still continuing and her entire body was gone.

Shutting her eyes tight, she felt her neck disappear, and then it crawled up to her face...

* * *

When Karin opened her eyes, she was standing in the middle of nowhere. An absolute blank space.

Nothing. When she looked up, she saw a large, white screen of which she guessed was the screen of the game machine. Outside, she saw the arcade.

"Oh! I really am trapped! Help! Somebody, please!"

She banged on the glass, but she knew her attempts would be useless. Looking around, she tried to take in her surroundings, or maybe find her way out. When she turned around completely, she was standing right in front of the humongous letters that spelled "Various."  
_This is really happening. I'm inside of a game. I'm trapped in here for god know's how long... _

"What am I going to do?!" she collapsed to the blank ground.

"**Play the game, of course ~ nya!"**

A cheery, high pitched voice echoed through the blank space and Karin looked around frantically.

Then, right before her eyes, a cat with emerald eyes, dirty blonde fur and cute, tiny angel wings hopped down in front of her.

"W-who are you..? A CAT IS TALKING!"

"My name is Shii-chan ~Nya! I'm your guardian in this game. I'm also your guide. But you need to hurry up and get in the game if you want to get out!"

"Get in if I want to get out?" Karin cocked her head to the side.

"Right! You have to play, then beat all the levels with all the Rune Knights."

Karin blinked, recalling what Kirihiko had said when he was explaining the game earlier.

"How do I play? I don't have a controller, or anything.."  
"You are the controller, silly! You can do what you want in the game~Nya."  
"Ah! I think I see what you mean... but... do I really have to?! Why am I the only one?! I know I've been tricked into this."  
"I'm not positive~ Nya. I'm just a program~ Nya! But you need to hurry, before this room disappears and you're trapped here forever!"

"Uh.. umm.." Karin whirled her head around to stare out at the arcade, then back at Shii-chan.

"I... I'll play, I guess."  
"Great! Come on, there's a door hidden inside the "V" of "Various."

Shii chan led the way toward the Letters and jumped in between the " \" "/" of the "V."

Karin was alone again. She took one last look at the arcade.

Oh well. It wasn't like she could get out, anyway.

Plus, how could someone as crazy as her pass up an opportunity to be in a VIDEO GAME?!

"Are you coming~Nya?!" Shii-chan's head popped out of the "V," similar to the Chesire Cat in Alice and Wonderland.

"Oh! Yeah!" Walking quickly and placing her hands on the tall letters of the V, she pulled herself up and jumped through it.

* * *

The next time Karin opened her eyes, she was standing in a field of purple grass. She glanced around. The sky was dark and black. The clouds were dark and gray. The sky flashed from lightning striking. She looked out further for signs of any thing else.

"Where am I?"

Shii-chan appeared next to her and rubbed against her leg.

"This is Level 1. In order to pass this level, you have to destroy as many Vampires as possible. Also..." Shii-chan blushed. "You have to be careful~Nya. Male Vampires are sexually attracted to human females. Also, they.. they will attack to get what they want~Nya. You have to protect your virginity in this level."  
Karin flushed, "What?! What kind of game is this?! AND HOW DID YOU KNOW I WAS A VIRGIN?!"

"Queen Aphrodite swore her love to her King~Nya. Even though she erased her memories and was reborn on Earth, she will never fall in love with anyone else but him~Nya. That is why this first level is so important! The first Rune Knight is your.. uh.. future husband~Nya."

"Who's Queen Aphrodite, and what does she have to do with me? And.. who's my future husband?!"

"Never mind that. You have to get him, quickly~ Nya! Please, protect yourself~ Nya. Do not give in to the vampire pheromones... or you'll be in bed with a vampire before you know it. I can only help you at certain times, so we must part now~Nya"

"But, wait! Don't I get a weapon?"

"You must summon one with your power~Nya. Poor girl. I feel bad for you. Those vampires won't be able to resist you when you're wearing something so erotic."  
Shii-chan disappeared before Karin could protest.

Frowning at what she said last, she looked down at herself.

"It's just a school uniform, I mean – AHHH!" she screamed and her eyes widened at what was now covering her body.

Her uniform had disappeared.

Covering her upper body was a tight, black corset that pushed her breasts further up her chest in a sexy way. Since the corset was short, her stomach showed, and wrapped around her hips were a pair of small black shorts. On her legs were black, thigh high socks, and her platinum hair had been pulled in a ponytail that went down her knees. A few strands of hair were left tucked behind her ear and resting on her shoulders. She felt something behind her and turned to look.

A long, black, devil's tail moved slowly behind her, and she felt her head. Two tiny black horns poked out of her head.

She, of course, couldn't see it, but her jade green eyes had turned a neon green color as well.

"This is so embarrassing! And it's so cold!" She hugged herself.

Biting her lip, she glanced around before continuing onward.

_Yep. I should have went straight home._

* * *

**_Review, please! I GOTTA KNOW HOW YOU FEEEEEEEEEEEEEL._**


	2. Chapter 2

_**Vampire Slayer- this one isn't really a game reference.. but that's okay. :)**_

As Karin continued throughout the gloomy first level in the game world of Various, a school came into view. It was just as gloomy as everything else – dark, dreary, and broken. Several huge areas of the school were destroyed as if bombs had hit it. The midnight plum brick walls were splashed with blood and the windows were tinted black.

But the school was still covered enough to be a shelter.

It stood in the middle of nowhere – right in the middle. There were no ways out, no concreted places to park cars, just a school in the middle of nowhere.

Which made it look even creepier to a slightly confused and frightened Karin.

_Oh, please don't let this be the place I'm supposed to travel through. I don't think I can do it! This will be so embarrassing!_

As Karin neared, she could hear _very _dirty noises, coming from males and females. The whole school practically shook. There were loud moans, screams, groans, yells, shouts... whatever they were, Karin could definitely HEAR them. For a moment, she stopped in her tracks.

A nagging voice in the back of her head that sounded an awful lot like Shii-chan told her to move forward and stay strong.

So she did.

Her legs started moving on their own and walked her to the dark double doors of the school. She reached forward and knocked. The door opened and she yelped before jumping behind a wall.

She peeked through the door. No one was there. She could see the hallways, as dark and dreary, yet shiny, as everything else.

Still splattered with blood.

_Go on._

Hesitantly, she pulled herself from the wall and entered the school. When she had gotten far enough, the door slammed behind her. Yelping, she took off down the hall, flailing her arms and struggling to find a place to hide. Without thinking, she burst through the door of a dark classroom and slammed it shut behind her. Panting, she tried to think up a plan. She hadn't seen anyone. And what exactly was she supposed to do when she came face to face with a vampire? Try and beat them with her bare hands.

For a minute, she imagined herself doing that, then winning the level. She would have laughed if she hadn't heard another behind her.

She jumped at the low, yet sexy laugh she heard. Whirling around, she only saw darkness. When she squinted, she could just make out two figures standing close to each other.

The smaller figure, a curvier one that she guessed was a woman, began to lick at the bigger figure's neck.

Glancing around, Karin quickly flipped the light switch. It turned on, but the light was dim. However, she could finally see the figures.

The woman wore a black bikini top with a short, tight black skirt. Her hair was dark and short, just curling around her chin. On her feet were a pair of black heels to match her very revealing outfit.

The male was wearing less than the female, a pair of boxers and a cape covering very little of him. His abs and well toned chest were sculpted perfectly and made something inside of Karin tingle, just by looking at them. His hair was long, all the way down his back, and a bright red. The girl next to him sank her teeth into his neck and licked the blood she drew gratefully. The male moaned and closed his dark red eyes.

"Did you... come to join us, my dear?" the male asked.

Karin's eyes widened and she pressed herself closer to the door.

The female pulled back and licked her lips, "You smell rather tasty. You're not a vampire, are you?"

"Probably not, but she certainly is adorable, don't you think? Come here, darling."

He reached for her. Karin shook her head frantically, which made him frown.

"That's odd. No female ever refuses Emilio!" he laughed again before blowing Karin a kiss.

Literally.

When he blew the "kiss" from his hand, a thousand tiny swirling sparkles flew toward Karin slowly.

Not knowing what to do, she let it engulf her.

When it disappeared inside of her body, she didn't feel any different.

"Let's try this again. Now, come to me, darling."  
Just when she was about to shake her head again, Karin felt an unfamiliar heat fill her body. Some of it pooled at her core and soaked her underwear. She felt the strangest, lusty urge to either touch or be touched.

And filled.

In a heartbeat, she was walking toward him. He spread an arm out wide and wrapped it around her.

The female laughed and pulled away from him.

"As much as I'd like to see this, I've got places to be. I'll leave you two alone."

When Karin had blinked, the girl was gone.

The male touched her cheek and made her face him. His touch sent shivers through her body that soon turned into electricity. She gazed up at him and he kissed her neck.

Grabbing her hips, he lifted her onto a nearby desk and placed himself between her legs.

His hands roamed her chest and Karin could only feel, watch, and gasp.  
No one had ever touched her like this before.

Part of her didn't like it, but the part that knew this was a pheromone couldn't help it.

When his hands began to move lower, Karin struggled to break free of the lust spell.

_I don't like this! I don't want anyone else to touch me here except - Well, I don't have anyone now, but.. perhaps my future husband Shii-chan was speaking about? Even that would be better than this!_

_**Don't give in, Karin-chan! Use your Honey Blood Blade!**_

_My what? Shii-chan! Is that you!?_

_**Yes! I'm not supposed to be helping you right now, but this is all I can do! Summon your Honey Blood Blade and kill that vampire!**_

_O.. okay, then!_

Shutting her eyes tightly, Karin tried to call upon a Honey Blood Blade. When nothing happened, and she felt Emilio's kisses fluttering down her stomach, she panicked. Any further and he'd be touching her most private place.

"Honey Blood Blade!" she yelled, finally able to use her body and break free of the trance.

Emilio stopped and looked up at her. "Silly. Are you trying to kill me, or something? Quiet down and be still-"

A second later, a light flashed through the room and Emilio screeched in horror. A beautiful, golden sword rest in Karin's right palm, the silver handle sparkling.

_This must be it!_

Shutting her eyes tightly, Karin raised the sword and swung it.

"Don't touch me!"

"Yaaaaah!"

Karin opened her eyes to make sure she'd hit some one. As soon as she did, her sword sliced through Emilio's side and out the other, cutting his body in half. He disappeared into smoke milliseconds later.

Happy there was no blood shed, Karin stared at the sword.

A smile crossed her lips.

This would be fun. Indeed!

Jumping up, she raced out of the classroom and yelled out into the empty hallway.

"Ohhhh vampires! I'm a fresh virgin ready for some actioooooon!"

She skipped down the hallway. In a matter of seconds, excited looking male and female vampires came rushing out of their classrooms. Karin laughed and like an insane criminal, ran down the hallways, tearing through their bodies with the sword, filling the hallways with smoke and ruining the lust spells they attempted to give her.

Her laughs grew louder and more sinister as she danced through the school and killed like a pro.

And the vampires just kept coming.

Some tried to grab her from behind, and they were gone within a single swing of her powerful weapon.

The amount of vampires began to diminish. After killing just a few more, she had run through the entire school twice and couldn't find any more. Running out of the school, she looked around the empty field. When she turned around to go back _into_ it, it was gone. She gasped.

Now she was the one in the middle of nowhere.

She felt something furry curl around her leg and raised her sword.

"Relax, Nya~! It's just me, Nya~."

She looked down at a wide eyed Shii-chan and sighed in relief.

"Oh, it's you."

"Right. You've almost completed the level, Nya~!"

"Great. What do I have to do now?"

"Save your first Rune Knight!"

"Okay... where is he?"

"On that mountain~Nya!" Shii-chan pointed to something behind Karin, who turned and bit back a gasp. Seconds ago, the mountain hadn't been there at all!

It was a small, purple grass covered mountain that looked dreary and seemed to point up into the dark, stormy sky.

Karin saw something atop the mountain, a figure that looked like it was tied to a giant, medal, pole.

She squinted a little and saw that it _was_ some one tied to a medal pole.

"You're going to have to hurry!"  
"R-Right!" Karin raced across the field, her eyes never leaving the figure tied to the pole. What was she supposed to say when she met him?  
"Hello, I'm your future wife."

That sounded desperate... Maybe Shii-chan would introduce them or something.

"There's something you should know about the First Rune Knight..." Shii-chan panted, siding next to Karin as they began to climb up the hill.

Karin flicked her devil's tail, "Wh.. what's that? Ugh!" She dug her nails into the steep hill and clawed her way toward the top, making good progress from her usually large amount of energy.

"He's been... reset. Just like the other Rune Knights. They've all been put into different levels. The only thing is... part of them has been programmed to match the game levels they've been in~Nya."

"Uh- h...uh...?" she was almost to the top now!

"That means that half of him is a vampire and the other is his main self... But he's younger, the same age as you, since the other characters grew up just like you did in the human world."

"V-vampire..?!"

"Yes~Nya.. You must be careful... what we want him to do is go back to his main self."  
"What's wrong with... his vampire... self...?"

"You'll see ~Nya."  
Before Karin could ask anything else, Shii-chan had disappeared. Karin's draw dropped in shock and she almost slipped down the hill. Regaining her strength, she pulled herself up the rest of the way and collapsed on the surface when she finally made it.

Panting, she felt her heart pounding, knowing her "future husband" was right behind her.

She turned slowly.

Across the marble floor covering the top of the mountain, a long pole stood. And wrapped around that pole was a teenaged boy that just _had_ to be another vampire. His body was to die for.

His head hung down, his long, dark hair covering his face. Both of his arms were pulled over his head and tied around the pole at the wrists. He was stripped of his clothes, except for a long, torn, pair of shorts. His beautiful, muscular body had been cut in large, still bleeding gashes, and was battered and bruised in other areas.

_Have the vampires been attacking him...?!_

Karin looked at the several wounds on his neck that looked like they were bite marks. She felt her heart ache for the poor guy.

Something screamed for her to untie him. Obeying the voice, she hesitantly she stood up and walked across the marble floor, her heels softly click - clacking as she walked.

He must have been asleep, being motionless and limp on the pole.

"I.. I'll untie you..." Karin said when she was close enough to whisper in his ear.

The Rune Knight was still unresponsive, so she proceeded in untying him. First his wrists.

The medal bands around his wrists seemed to barely even budge at her strongest pulls. Grabbing her Honey Blade, she positioned it over his wrists and cut at the ties.

Within seconds, they unhooked and the boy fell into her arms, sending her falling to the ground from his weight.

Karin landed on her backside, whimpering from the pain. Opening her eyes, she saw the teenage vampire was lying in her lap. She put a hesitant, gentle hand on his head of soft, dark hair.

Karin stared at the horrible bruises and cuts that covered his body, feeling sorry for him until she saw his wounds close and the bruises disappear. Her eyes widened as she watched his body heal itself before her.

"Wow..." she whispered.

_What do I do now...?_

The boy's body trembled once before a groan erupted from his throat. Karin gasped and thought about running away, but something told her there was nothing telling her he was dangerous. After all, he was the 1st Rune Knight.

"A... are you okay? Are you still hurt anywhere..?" she asked. The teenager in front of her finally reached out, placing both hands on either side of her, and pushed himself upward to look at her.

Biting her lip to keep from gasping, she took in the sight of his beautiful face.

His straight dark hair framed his face and fell down his shoulders – pretty long, but it made him look like a prince. Karin thought his eyes were his best feature, bright, crystal blue orbs that widened as they searched hers. When she stared into them, she saw something.

She couldn't quite make out what it was, but it flickered, like a mirror showing you a reflection.

When she could finally see her reflection, she became even more wide eyed.

In his eyes, she saw herself of course, but it didn't look like her _present_ self, more like her future.

Her hair was shiny and long, flowing like a princess all the way down her back, pulled into multiple curly ponytails and topped with a gorgeous crown of exotic flowers she never could have dreamed would be real. On her body, she was wearing a beautiful, pale yellow gown that hung off her shoulders and covered her legs down to her feet. Humungous, sparkling fairy wings emerged from behind her.

Long, beautiful eyelashes covered Karin's soft, elegant green eyes that were staring back at her in surprise.

Karin blinked and the image was gone. Now, she could only see her present self in the excited ocean of the boy's eyes.

"You... must be Aphrodite."

As soon as the words came out of his mouth, the sapphire eyes darkened and turned into blood red rubies.

Karin saw his aura, then, dark and surrounding his whole body. A somewhat seductive smirk crossed his lips when she tried to back away. In the blink of an eye, she was pinned to the ground, his gorgeous body hovering over her and his eyes looking her up and down.

A hand grazed the crystal locket on her chest and she let out a gasp.

"Hmm, this must be the locket I was said to have given you after we were married."

_He knows we were married, too?!_

"It's a shame our memories were erased, I mean, couldn't we at least have remembered all our children?"

"Umm, I... uh, Mr...uh.." Karin hadn't learned his name.

"_Kazune. Kazuto. Apollo. Zeus. _One of those would be fine. Nothing formal." he leaned down to kiss the locket, closing his eyes.

"How about Kazune..?"

"Uh... okay..."  
Kazune laughed once, "Judging by the amount of kids we had, we must have been doing a _lot_ of naughty things in bed, huh?"  
Karin blushed furiously, her whole face burning.

_Just how many children did we have?! Shii-chan, help, before I get pregnant _now_!_

Karin saw something flicker in the corner of her eye and she turned.

A box wrapped in white paper and pink ribbon hovered in the air, glowing blue. In bubble letter in front of the box were the words :

"**+ 1 MEMORY"**

Karin carefully slid out from under Kazune to crawl over to the box. He sat back on his legs and watched her. Grabbing the box from high in the air, Karin unwrapped it like it was a gift and pulled open the box.

Instead of seeing an inanimate object, a light engulfed her.

_Aphrodite sighed and stared off at the balcony, her eyes scanning the world that belonged to her. She adjusted her Queen's crown and bit her lip. She didn't want to go back into the party... It was her wedding night and there were too many people here at her castle that wanted to stay late. She wanted to spend time with her husband, like she was SUPPOSED to. _

_Aphrodite's family had seemed very annoying today, bombarding her with gifts, asking her about how she wanted to rule the kingdom, what she should look out for now that she was a ruler; not to become selfish, to be a leader; what to expect out of kids.._

_And then her mother and her sister had had a very embarrassing conversation with her about her wedding night._

"_Are you fully prepared?"_

"_Yes, mother."_

"_Are you SURE you know what to do?"  
"Yes, Kirika-oneesama."_

"_Are you-"_

"_Guys! I just got married, I'm nervous already! I know what happens on a wedding night!" _

_That was when she had stood up, looking flustered and embarrassed, hurrying out of the small room they had been speaking in to go the balcony, where she could be alone._

_Aphrodite sighed one last time, her heart pounding at the thought of having her husband Zeus all to herself for their very first time._

_Throwing her soft golden tresses out of her face to let them fall all the way down her body and legs, she rested her chin in her hands and her elbows on the ledge._

_And then everything went dark._

"_Guess who...?" _

_Aphrodite relaxed, hearing her husband's soft, gentle voice._

_She laughed and grabbed his wrists, taking them off of her eyes and turning in his arms._

"_Hi, dear." she stared up at him, her eye lids lowering._

_Zeus looked wonderful – his long, pale blonde – almost white hair that touched his shoulders were styled perfectly with a tall, sparkling golden king's crown that fit him perfectly. Dressed in long silver armor that went over his white unitard, _

"_What are you doing out here?" Zeus asked, his gentle blue eyes searching hers. He kissed her gently on her cheek before lightly pressing their foreheads against each other._

"_I... just had to get away, my mother and sister were driving me crazy.." she laughed, mentally kicking herself for saying the sentence, knowing he would ask something that would lead to her embarrassment._

"_Why? Were they talking about something?" he asked, looking into her eyes innocently._

_Aphrodite blushed and looked away, "..Yes..."  
"What was it?"_

"_Nothing."_

"_Something embarrassing that I was fully aware of already."_

"_And what was that?"  
"Ahh.. um... our … wedding night.."  
Zeus pulled away. When Aphrodite looked up at him, he was looking away shyly, a light blush on both of his cheeks._

"_Oh.. right.."  
Aphrodite smiled softly and grabbed both of his cheeks, making him look at her and kissed him gently._

_Zeus' eyes widened in surprise before they lowered and he deepened the kiss._

_Aphrodite blushed again before letting out an excited moan. Zeus wrapped his arms around her small waist and pulled her closer, crushing her to his body._

_Aphrodite felt her body heat up instantly and as her heart pounded, her head began to spin._

_None of Zeus's kisses had been filled of such passion and desire before. It drove her insane. She wrapped her arms around his neck and Zeus began to kiss her more eagerly, pushing her against the ledge. She felt his hands travel down her back until they grasped her backside._

_Aphrodite yelped into Zeus' mouth, finally realizing what he was wanting._

_Zeus opened his eyes to look at the ledge to see if it was wide enough and pulled his wife on top of it._

_Aphrodite pulled away, gasping for air, "Z.. Zeus.. not out here, the party's still going on and we have so many guests, it just an... another hour...and we can..."_

"_Aphrodite.." Zeus panted, "You look so beautiful.. I don't think I can..."_

_Aphrodite stared into his eyes that were slowly darkening. They went from bright sapphire, to brown, and then finally rested on a dark ruby shade._

"_...resist."_

_Aphrodite gasped. "Oh, Zeus, not again-"_

_Zeus quickly claimed her lips again, ignoring her squirming and young Queen flushed as she realized she would have to phase him back to normal._

_She grabbed his wrist and put it between her breasts and over her heart before doing the same to his chest with her own hand. When she felt their heart beats falling into sync with each other, she captured his lips in a passionate kiss and thought hard about wanting him to change back. When their hearts beat at the same time 3 times in a row, she felt his body temperature drop back to normal and his heart beat on it's own._

_She pulled away. Zeus was closing his eyes, as if he was sleeping peacefully. When he opened his eyes, they were back to their enchanting sapphires._

_Zeus stared at Aphrodite for a second before his eyes widened and he blushed._

"_Oh, Aphrodite, did I phase again?" it was more of a statement._

"_Yes..." Aphrodite laughed before kissing him again, "Let's just go back to the party so we can have time to ourselves tonight."  
_Karin opened her eyes.

The box had disappeared in her arms, but the memory had been returned to her mind. She had remembered every thing about it, how nervous she'd been, how annoyed she was at her mother and sister, how to change her husband back to normal..

She turned around, looking down at Kazune, who met her eyes and stood up slowly.

"Something wrong?" he looked at her with his pretty ruby eyes before pulling her into a warm embrace.

_So that's what I have to do...?_

Taking Kazune's hand, she put it on her chest, dangerously close to one of her breasts. shivering at the contact.

Kazune looked surprised, "Did you remember something...?"

"Sort of..." Karin blushed again. She put her hand on his bare chest, feeling his heart pound against hers.

A few moments later, their heart beats fell into sync.

"And... now I have to..." she stood on her tippy toes and drew her face near his.

Kazune seemed to realize what she was doing, taking his free hand and brushing her hair out of her face and leaning forward.

Their lips touched. Karin felt all kinds of emotions and sweet feelings run through her body, as if her heart had just been fully activated for him. His lips felt warm and made her excited.

Her eyes closed, savoring the feeling. When she pulled away, she opened her eyes slowly.

The man in front of her had changed almost completely.

His hair had changed from black to soft blonde and his aura was sparkling and positive.

He opened his eyes, just as their heart beats fell out of sync.

Karin felt her heart flutter when she saw his soft sapphire eye search hers.

And then she was being pulled into another warm embrace.

When Kazune pulled away, he was beaming like crazy.

"You must be Aphrodite, but your name's also Suzaka, but right now it's Karin, right?! I don't remember much about us because our memories were erased, just like our entire families! I'm so glad you're here, you must have saved me.. it's so dreary and boring, and those vampires kept trying to suck my blood, I was so lonely and annoyed, but I couldn't get out of here without you here to save me, my sweet darling! Now we can be together! This makes me so happy!"

Kazune's heart pounded as if to show his excitement. Karin was so surprised, she could barely even keep up with this new side of him.

"Oh, well umm..."  
"GOOD JOB, ~NYA~!"

Karin heard Shii-chan's excited voice behind her and turned to see the small cat walking over to them.

Karin gave Shii-chan a brief death glare.

_You could have been here this whole time to help me out._

"Oh. It's you." Karin sneered.

Shii-chan didn't notice. "You better hurry up, this level's going to disappear in 20 seconds!"

Kazune and Karin turned to see that 75% of the dark vampire world had already disappeared and they would be surrounded by darkness in only a short time.

A bright beam of light shone down on the marble ground, opening the sky and widening.

When Karin looked up at it, she could see another world at the top.

"That's Level 2, ~nya! Hurry up, you two!" Shii-chan bounded over to the light before it pulled her into the sky.

"Let's go, Karin!" Kazune cheered before swinging Karin up in his arms and carrying her bridal style over to the light. They were pulled up into the light quickly, just as the darkness had reached where they had been standing moments ago.

_**Level 1: Complete**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**Level 2 : Angels in Heaven**_

When Karin and Kazune arrived in the new level, Karin had to shield her eyes from the sudden amount of light that engulfed them. When the glow faded, she and Kazune were standing on a cloud!

"Ah!" Karin looked down at the puffy white cloud underneath her and gasped. It was really a cloud!

Kazune set her down on her feet and she bounced like she was on a trampoline. Giggling, she bent down to touch the cloud with her hand. The texture was smooth, fluffy like cotton, but bouncier and lighter and even softer than the feel of cotton in your hands. She let out another giggle and remembered that she was being accompanied by someone. She turned to look at Kazune, giddy from the excitement of getting to be on a cloud and blinked when she realized he had been clothed.

Kazune held an arm over his face to block it from the sunlight, a bright, cheerful smile on his angelic face.

_Speaking of angelic..._

A beautiful golden halo hovered over his soft blonde head, reflecting the sunlight shining down on them, and on his body he wore a silk white chambray shirt and a pair of creamy white shorts; On his feet he wore a pair of white sneakers with small angel wings on the heels.

Fluttering from behind him were a pair of big, but not too big pure white wings that shimmered.

Karin took in the beautiful angel before her that she had met only about 5 minutes ago.

"Wow.." she had let the words slip out of her mouth before thinking.

Kazune took his arm from his face and turned to look at her, "Hmm?"  
A moment after looking at her, he gasped and his face held shock.

"Wh.. what is it?"

"You look so cute!" he bent down so he was eye level with her and stared deeply into her eyes with his smiling ones.

Karin frowned and looked down at an outfit she didn't recognize. It was a lacy white sleeveless gown that hung down her body – simple, but pretty. She was barefooted, but wore 2 golden ankle bracelets on each foot.

Her hair had been put into long braids that fell at her knees and when she reached up to feel for a halo, her hands met the shimmering, hovering head peace and she felt her heart flutter in excitement.

Turning to look behind her, Karin saw a pair of big, sparkling white wings, but to her, not nearly as pretty as Kazune's.

She remembered his comment before and felt a light blush cover her cheeks.

"You think I look cute?"  
Kazune nodded and her heart pounded in her chest.

"R..Really?"

"Definitely! Very cute!"

After a moment of thinking hard of what to say after being flattered, Karin was grateful that Kazune changed the subject.

"I wonder what this level will be about – we won't get anywhere if we don't go anywhere!" he slid his hand into hers, pulled her up to her feet, and skipped off. Karin was surprised at first, but joined in as they floated from cloud to cloud, closing in on a city not far from them since they had started moving.

Karin could only watch and jump with Kazune as the hyperactive teenage boy laughed hysterically and skipped atop the clouds. Karin's heart was pounding with excitement and joy. She had never had so much fun before – with a boy.

When they had gotten close enough, Kazune pointed to the angels flying around through the city.

"Do you think we're supposed to go in there?" Karin whispered cautiously to Kazune once they were just a few clouds away.

"It's a good idea – since there's nothing else out here..."

Karin realized she had still been holding hands with him after they had crossed the final few clouds and blushed before taking her hand back gently.

"S...sorry..!" she looked away.

Kazune blinked, staring at her for a moment. "Oh, that's okay! But isn't it kind of normal since we-"  
Karin would never get to hear what he had to say because the sound of a gentle, beautiful, harp echoed through the angel level. Horns blew and drums were hit as the angels in the city were called in a meeting.

"ANGELS!" a woman's straining voice called, "OUR PRINCESS HAS BEEN CAPTURED!"

Gasps and cries rang out at the news and Kazune whispered, "Come on." he spread his wings and with a gentle flap, took flight toward the angel gathering and Karin did the same, taking in the short moment of flying for the first time.

Her long braids flew from her face and she turned in circles, laughing.

When she and Kazune landed on a tall building where they were able to see, they watched closely to see what was going on.

Beautiful angels were gathering around an angel with dark brown hair and bright, wide green eyes.

"Last night," the woman continued, "The palace was broken into and our little Princess Artemis was taken away!"  
As the angels began to mourn for the loss, Karin turned to look up at Kazune, who looked deep in thought.

"Artemis... don't tell me.." he looked over at Karin, putting a finger on his lips.

"What is it?"

"Artemis... if I'm correct, should be one of our daughters."

Karin felt her cheeks warm and before she could say anything, the woman spoke again.

"We've traced the path of the kidnapper and have discovered it is a dragon! We've found the cave, but who will be brave enough to fight the terrible beast?!"

Kazune and Karin stared at each other. Kazune nodded once and Karin turned to shout down at the crowd of angels, " UH, WE WILL!"

The angels gasped and turned to the voice, looking up at the radiant beauty that had spoken. Her hair, hanging in two shiny blonde braids, fell down to her legs and her now soft green eyes shone brighter than the sun. The boys had noticed this the most.

The girls had immediately turned to stare at the girl's partner, a handsome, bleach blonde haired young man with gorgeous wings and a bright, friendly, playful smile.

Calling from her blow horn, the desperate and pleading angel that was announcing the terrible news yelled up at them, "Brave heroes! You will save our dear Princess Artemis?!"

Karin hesitated, giving a quick glance in Kazune's direction. Kazune put a hand on her shoulder and cupped a hand over his mouth to yell, "YES. WE WILL SAVE PRINCESS ARTEMIS! JUST LEAD THE WAY!"

The angels began to dance and chatter with joy. Karin and Kazune were invited to fly downward with the angels. Wrapping his arms around her from behind, Kazune flew them down to the cloud surface.

"You are both such a blessing!" the announcing angel hugged them both tightly. Karin stared at the woman cautiously. Although she was beautiful and nothing but a desperate woman searching for something important, Karin couldn't help but feel the woman give off a dark aura.

"Ladies and gentlemen! These are your brave volunteers!" the woman grabbed their wrists and thrust their hands into the air. The angels applauded at once. Karin blushed a little and was grateful when the woman gave them their hands back.

"My name is Elisa and I will be your guide through the dark dragon cave – but be warned – this is a very dangerous thing to be volunteering for..." the woman named Elisa said.

Karin and Kazune exchanged looks.

"That's fine, thank you for the warning." Karin replied.

"We're not going to chicken out!" Kazune smiled softly. A crowd of female angels rushed over to him and began to praise him for being so brave, while Karin was immediately surrounded by male angels asking if they could accompany her.

"Th.. that's okay, I'm going with Kazune..." she told them, red faced. The boys only asked her more questions, like – did she have weapons? Would she consider marrying someone if she made it out alive? Was she dating Kazune? Did she know how to fight? How skilled was she...?

Elisa's bright red eyes were practically on fire.

"Hey! Let go of them, you useless things!" Elisa bellowed.

Karin stared at Elisa in shock. Her voice was loud enough to shake the towers behind them and scatter a few clouds. Karin seemed to be the only one that had noticed the smoke coming out of her ears and the way her voice had broke and lowered suddenly like a monsters when she had yelled.

When Elisa caught Karin staring at her, she coughed and flipped her long dark ponytail over her shoulder and shook her head slightly.

"Ahem, I mean – let go of our heroes so they can hurry and save sweet Princess Artemis."

Karin glanced over at Kazune, who hadn't heard a thing. Elisa shooed the angels away and took Karin and Kazune's hands.

"I'll take you to the cave now, it's not that far."  
Kazune waved to the female angels, smiling charmingly. Karin gave the males a small wave as well before becoming too shy and turning back around to face where she was going. Elisa led them through the clouds in the sky before finally stopping at a cave.

"Are you brave heroes still up to the challenge? The dragon isn't home right now, or there would be smoke coming from the hole up there.." Elisa pointed upward at a bundle of clouds settled atop the huge cave build out of white rock.

Kazune frowned, "Aw. It's not here? It would be much more fun if we could slay it _and_ save Princess Artemis."  
Karin shivered, "No, just saving her sounds fine. Dragons are creepy... Let's just get her before it comes back, Kazune."  
Elisa smiled, more sinister than sweetly, "Follow me, my brave heroes."  
Once Elisa had her back turned and a torch lit in her hand, Karin stole a glance at Kazune.

"Don't you think she's a little odd?" Karin whispered in the lowest voice possible. Kazune stared at the back of Elisa's head as he raised an eyebrow.

"Ah. I thought I was the only one who thought so... just keep your eyes open for suspicious actions. We can't trust anyone in this game except for the Rune Knights. Remember that."  
Karin nodded and followed Elisa into the dark cave, sticking close to Kazune, who wrapped his arm around her protectively and held her tightly as they walked.

Karin blushed, but felt more comfortable by his sudden action and looked up at him. He was staring straight ahead cautiously. She stopped blushing and told herself to focus as well.

They had walked for nearly 10 minutes when Elisa stopped at a tall portal that resembled a mass of rectangular shaped red water.

"Just go through this portal and you will be in the Dragon's lair – our princess is just beyond this portal!"  
Kazune pulled Karin closer to his body, "How do you know all this?"  
Elisa blinked before shaking her head frantically, "I can't explain that now! You must hurry, before the dragon comes back!"  
The next thing Karin knew, Kazune had pulled them both into the portal, and when she opened her eyes, they were both falling. They fell for at least a full minute before finally landing in a pile of something sharp and rough.

Wincing, Karin looked down at what she was lying in and yelped when she saw a skull in between her legs filled with sparkling, bright gems.

"Ah!" She glanced around frantically to see she was landing in a pile of both bones and jewels.

"Nng, that hurt..."

Karin turned to look at Kazune, who was rubbing his head and pouting.

"Wh-where are we?" Karin tried to stand, but only fell again.

Kazune glanced around at the black space around them. It was too dark to see anything.

Karin started to panic. She had no idea where they were and she had been afraid of the dark since she had been locked in a closet at a party for wanting to play games and games only.

Kazune heard her breathing become more rapid and the bones and jewels clinked together as she shifted around, trying to see. When he heard her heartbeat increase, Kazune grabbed Karin's hands and kissed them.

"Don't worry. I'm here to protect you, remember?" he said in a most reassuring voice. Karin instantly calmed down, although it took her friends and family hours to calm her down when she was afraid of something, It only took the handsome knight seconds.

"Ah.." she blushed.

"**So you've easily fallen into my trap."**

Karin tensed when she heard the familiar, sinister voice echo through the dark … _wherever_ they were in.

By the amount of echos, it must have been HUGE.

Kazune stood easily to his feet, gained his balance, and pushed Karin behind him.

"Elisa?! Where are you?" he sounded angry, but not in a way of being betrayed.

The woman had made it almost obvious that she was not completely on their side.

"Oh. I'm right here. In my home." Elisa chuckled darkly. Karin and Kazune continued to try and search for her in the darkness. Karin's heart began to pound again.

"**Heh.. Could it be I am scaring you brave heroes?"**

"Quit being a coward and show yourself, Elisa." Kazune yelled.

There was a moment of dead silence before Elisa began to laugh maniacally again.

"**Very well!"**

Karin screamed when fire circled around them, lighting up the humungous cave they were in. She stared ahead and gasped. She and Kazune were only meters away from a pair of glowing golden eyes.

When she took her eyes away from the irises that were the size of her own body, she looked at the vile creature and bit her lip to keep from screaming.

They were standing in a dragon's lair.

The dragon smirked, showing it's sharp teeth. It's plum colored body was illuminated by the fire.

"**Are you positive I'm not scaring you? You're girlfriend there looks like she's about to pee her pants."  
**

"Am not!" Karin pouted. Elisa only snickered. Kazune held Karin tighter behind him.

"**So..brave hero.. you must be that pesky little Rune Knight I'm programmed to fight. Well, get ready, cause this isn't gonna end well."  
**

"You're right."

Karin looked at Kazune. A mischievous smile crossed his lips.

"This may not end well at all."

Kazune's body began to glow. Rays of light peeked out of the clothing over his body, trying to escape. Soon, the light began to eat away at it, his clothes slowly dissolving. Karin shut her eyes and threw her hands up to cover her face from the sudden burst of a warm blue light that engulfed Kazune's body.

The light lit up more of the cave so Karin was able to see their surroundings. Of course, she was well aware they were standing atop a mile high pile of human bones and rare, sparkling jewels, but their were skeleton's _surrounding _ the sides of the cave, protecting a large, sparkling, pure golden shelled egg behind the dragon.

The glowing in front of Karin stopped. She lowered her arms and turned to stare in awe at the knight that stood in front of her.

Kazune's knight armor was made of some type of shimmering , protective white metal. Flowing silently behind him was a royal blue cape with a symbol in the middle – a circle with a dot in the middle.

The symbol for the Greek god Apollo.

_A knight in shining armor..._

Karin blushed.

"Wooooow! Kazune-kun, you look so cool!"

Kazune turned to look at her, his sweet blue eyes the only thing that could tell her it was him underneath his helmet that shielded his face.

"Really?! It does look kind of cool, right?! Though, it's pretty hard to move my legs..." he sounded a bit more surprised than Karin, who smiled softly.

_Kazune-kun has such a cute personality.._

"**Oh, that's great. You can transform... heeeh... I've seen better looks."_  
_**

The dragon's golden eyes darted over to a pile of knight armor, swords, and bones. She laughed.

"**They were brave like you, too, but unfortunately, bravery doesn't satisfy me. I'm starving."**

Kazune stepped over to Karin, putting his hands on her shoulders. His blue eyes searched hers.

"Listen. Our mission in this level is obviously to kill this dragon and find the 2nd Rune Knight. I'm counting on you to find her."  
"But... how in the world am I supposed to find a little girl in a place like this?" Karin asked.

Kazune glanced at something behind her and bit his lip to keep from laughing. Karin turned around and saw a giant sign that read "The 2nd Rune Knight."

The sign pointed to the giant golden egg guarded by the skeleton guards.

"Well... we know where to start looking."  
"Uh..right!"

Karin summoned her Honey Blade and crawled down the pile of bones, careful not to fall. It was a long way down...

Kazune watched her for a moment before securing his helmet and unsheathing his sword. He took a deep breath before turning toward the dragon Elisa, who smirked.

"**I hope you're ready, Rune Knight. I'm not holding back just because you're a kid."  
**

"I'm not holding back just because you're old, either!"

Elisa roared, and when she swung her arm at Kazune, he hopped onto it in a swift, high jump and ran up toward her face. Elisa realized what he was doing and tried to flick him off of her, but Kazune was moving to quick for her. Elisa roared again in frustration, swinging her arm to try and get him off.

Meanwhile, Karin had finally touched the ground. She turned around, clutching her Honey Blade, and walked up slowly to the skeleton guards.

"So uh... can you... can you guys move or something?"  
The guards all turned to stare at her. They didn't say a word, just stared with their eyes that were like dark abysses. They made absolutely no move to hurt her.

"Uh... I... I'm going to have to kill you guys if you don't move!" Karin put on her best brave face and swung her sword in a type of warning for a second.  
Silence.

Karin pouted, "I'm being serious!"

Longer moments of silence.

"Fine!" Karin swung her sword, this time intending to hit something, and sliced through a skeleton's body. He fell and lay motionless on the ground, his skull down to his spine disconnected from his hip bones and his legs.

Karin frowned.

"Are you... dead?"

A skeleton moved to take the fallen skeleton's place. Karin put a finger on her chin, thinking before pushing that skeleton over. He fell to the ground and his bones scattered.

"Oh, what is the POINT?!" she became slightly disappointed that she hadn't had a challenge and stuck out her sword, making an entire circle around the cave to slice through the skeleton guards.

The only different movement she had to make before she arrived back where she had started was to jump over the end of Elisa's tail.

"You skeletons have horrible lives, I'm sorry." she stifled a laugh and touched her Honey Blade to the giant, shining egg.

She put her ear to the shell and listened. There was a soft, rapid humming sound in which she guessed immediately was a heartbeat. A moment later, the egg shifted, making Karin jump, and the faintest noise of a person screaming for help on the inside made Karin's heart skip a beat.

Someone was definitely inside.

"I guess I'll have to open this... STEP BACK, I'LL HELP YOU!" she shouted.

The faint screaming on the inside stopped and the egg shifted, tilting to one side. Karin ran to the side of the egg that the person on the inside wasn't leaning on. She took a step back before punching the shell as hard as she could. Her knuckles ached and she gasped before looking at her throbbing hand.

"Crap! Ow, ow, ow!" she shook her hand and tried using her blade. She raised it high above her head before pulling it down and stabbing through the side of the egg. Fortunately, she was careful not to stab it through too much so that whatever was inside could survive.

The result had only been a small hole, so Karin gripped the handle of her sword tightly and bent her legs to support herself as she pushed her sword upward. The blade sliced through the egg, all the way to the top. Karin threw down her sword and tried to pry the split egg open.

A moment later, she succeeded, pushing the egg open until the top half of it had been pushed aside.

The person on the inside wasted no time getting out. As soon as there was enough room to, she jumped out of the egg and threw her arms around Karin's neck.

Karin yelped and was sent falling backward onto the ground. Blonde hair covered her face and a small, but pretty heavy body pulled her to the hard floor. Karin winced, rubbing her backside for a second.

"Ouch... ouch, ouch.."

"Ah. Sorry."

Karin's eyes widened when she heard the soft, sweet voice of a child. The little girl in her lap shifted, pulling away to look at her. The first thing Karin noticed about the girl was that she looked very familiar...

Her soft, pale skin glimmered even in the darkness of the cave and her long, soft crystal blonde hair hung down her back in perfectly straight strands. Karin could stare in amazement at her pretty hair. It looked like a model's hair in an advertisement for a hair product! Her flushed cheeks a natural, pretty red color, were sort of soft looking. The child was dressed in a puffy, white princess gown.

So it really was the princess the angels had been grieving about earlier.

Karin stared for a longer than necessary time at the girl, who didn't look a day over 11. She looked so familiar that Karin knew it would bug her until she found out. There was just something about those humungous, sparkling, ecstatic blue eyes...

"Are you the 2nd Rune Knight?" Karin asked.

The girl's small lips curled into a bright smile. She stared into Karin's neon green eyes and reached her tiny hands up to touch Karin's face.

"You look just like my mom! Oh, wait, you are my mom! This is so cool... but it's weird seeing you looking like a teenager when just a short while ago you were in your thirties! I missed you so much, mommy!"

The girl's tiny arms wrapped around Karin tightly, as if she would never let go, and for a moment, Karin felt sad for the girl.

_Am I really her mother? I have no memories whatsoever of her... How long have she and Kazune been locked away in this game? _

Karin had actually been shutting them out for a while now, but one of the dragon's pained roars ripped through the cave, echoing almost endlessly. She and the little girl in her arms looked up at the dragon standing not far from them.

Karin's jaw dropped. Elisa's body was covered in horrible gashes. Dark blood ran down her body, covering her. Kazune was moving so quick, swinging his sword and hopping from place to place on her body to gain better access. It was unbelievable that he hadn't fallen yet, but Karin was glad he was okay. More than okay, actually.. his movements were like steps to a dance.

Next to her, the blonde princess was watching the familiar looking knight's armor. She spotted the symbol on his cape and almost jumped off of Karin's lap.

"Daddy! It's daddy, that's him in his battle armor!"

Karin frowned for a second, "Da- oh, gosh, he-" she started blushing as she realized the girl knew perfectly well who her parents were.

_Then... that means that Kazune really is supposed to be my future husband... and this is our child...?_

"Nyaaa!"

Karin snapped out of her thoughts when Shii-chan appeared, darting out of a darker corner of a cave and dashing toward the Karin and the princess.

Karin helped the princess to her feet and turned to Shii-chan, who stopped in her tracks when she saw the glare on Karin's face.

"Uhhh, why are you looking at me like that, Nya..?"  
"I'm starting to really hate cats..." Karin spoke through her teeth, "...where was our warning that we were putting our trust in a _dragon_ when the level started?"

Shii-chan laughed nervously, "Well, it's not like I'm supposed to tell you everything, ~Nya.. that's not the point of the game..."

"It still would have been nice to drop a hint or something!"

"Mmnn, whatever, ~Nya, there's no time to loose! You've spent enough time in this level! You even saved Kazusa!"

The girl next to Karin giggled. "Thanks, mommy!"

Karin felt funny and a little awkward at being called "mother" all of a sudden.

The dragon roared, shaking the cave this time.

"According to my calculations, ~Nya, that dragon has 3% of life left! I'm opening the portal!"

"Wait, how do we get Kazune?"

"Don't worry, he'll make it, Nya!" Shii-chan ran to the center of the cave and put her paws in the air. "Level 3 portal open!" she shrieked.

A ball of light formed at the top of the cave until it formed itself into a beam, shooting down at the ground and spreading like a spotlight.

"Kazune!" Shii-chan yelled when the dragon finally disappeared.

"**No way! How could you have defeated meeeeeeee..."**

Elisa's upset voice boomed through the cave for the last time.

"Come on, kid!" Karin grabbed the girl named Kazusa's hand and ran with her to the light. Kazune fell back into the pile of bones. The ray of light was only a little further from the pile.

"Kazune-kun!" Karin shouted as she and Kazusa were slowly lifted from the ground. They floated upward with Shii-chan at their side.

Kazune scrambled to his feet, took a step back, and made a run for it. Karin gasped as he jumped and soared through the air, flying toward them.

She sucked in a breath, praying he would reach them and not fall and kill himself.

When the light hit his body, he stopped falling and was pulled into the air with Kazusa and Karin.

"Oh, thank goodness!" Karin grabbed his hand and he squeezed it back, holding on tightly to her.

"So how was I? Was I moving like lightening? Do you think I could have beaten the dragon a long time before? Did I take too long? Hey, hey, did I impress you?"

Karin smiled when she saw Kazune's excited expression. She wondered if he had grown tired at all.

The only thing on his body that could have said he had been slaying a dragon was the smudge on his cheek.

"Yeah," she said before they were transported to the next level and the cave shattered into a million pieces and plunged into darkness. "You were awesome."


	4. Chapter 4

**_Level 3 : Sugar Rush (Actual Game) / Song : Sugar Rush by AKB48 (So cute..)_**

* * *

_"S-U-G-A-R! Jump into your racing car, say SUGAR RUSH! SUGAR RUSH!"_

_Eh?_

Karin stirred in her sleep, hearing the faint noise of the theme song of the video game "Sugar Rush" playing somewhere behind her. Trying to figure out if the passed events were were a dream or reality, Karin finally settled on it being real and slowly sat up. She immediately realized she had something in her mouth and opened her eyes to see grass.

"Ah! EWWWwwww...?" she was about to spit the grass out when she realized it tasted like green apple. Instead, she chewed a little and the grass hardened like a jolly rancher before dissolving in her mouth. "What the...?"

Shaking her head to rid of the dizziness she felt, Karin looked around and was surprised at what she saw. She was in a forest filled of pink trees with peppermint bark and crystal pink leaves. Nearby, there was a pond full of something that had a chocolatey color.

_Chocolate...?!_

Karin stood up and ran over to the puddle, slowly sticking a finger into the puddle before bringing her finger to her lips. Her tongue darted out and licked her finger clean. Karin sighed in content, throwing her head back and closing her eyes to savor the taste.

_I can't remember the last time I had chocolate..._

Karin opened her eyes when remembering she was somewhere different and saw the clouds were shaped like candy.

There were lollipops, gum wrappers, heart shaped candies, and all kinds of treats.

"Where am I...?"

Almost as soon as the words had left her mouth, 2 groans sounded behind her, making her gasp. Karin turned and saw Kazusa and Kazune.

But they looked different.

Kazusa was no longer dressed in a giant, puffy dress, but was now wearing white overalls over a green tee-shirt decorated in what looked like pieces of candy. Covering her legs and feet were a pair of cute soft green loafers and white knee socks.

Her flowing, pale blonde locks were pulled into 3 ponytails - 2 on the top sides of her head, and another in the back. They were tied with green licorice bands into neat little bows - as a matter of fact, her hair was decorated with rainbow sprinkles!

She looked cute - her pink cheeks were marked with lollipop face paint..

"Ugh... mommy..?" Kazusa asked, rubbing her head and sitting up. She realized she had on gloves and stared at them for a second before looking herself over.

Karin felt a strange pain in her chest from being called "mommy" again. For some reason, she felt sort of bad for not having a memory and being apart from Kazusa and Kazune, but she didn't feel right suddenly being a mother. It didn't seem right at all...

Karin's eyes wandered over to Kazune. His shirt and shorts had been replaced with golden overalls that reached down to his ankles with a loose brown tee shirt underneath. His long, pale blond hair was covered in a honey colored beanie. He had gloves on his hands, like Kazusa, and dark brown loafers. His cheeks were decorated with golden swirls.

_Waah, he looks so cute,_ Karin thought to herself, blushing a little,_ He looks good in gold and brown._

Before her mind could wander off to more perverted thoughts about what he might look like underneath, Karin was surprised when Kazune stood up, put his hands on his hips, and put on a bright smile.

Karin blinked, "Huh? What is it..?"

"You look even cuter in _that_." he gave her the up-down.

Karin realized she'd probably changed, too, and looked down at herself. Starting from her feet, she wore pearl pink loafers, thigh high, white socks, soft pink overalls with frilly shorts and a puffy white dress shirt underneath that had long, wide sleeves that hung off her shoulders. Reaching up, she felt for her hair and realized it'd been pulled into two ponytails, and decorated with tiny pieces of candy.

"Uh.. th-thank you, Kazune-kun...!"

_I had no idea someone's words would make me feel so embarrassed and so happy at the same time... Ah, calm down, Karin, it's not like you dressed yourself, I mean, you just woke up and... oh, shut up, he said you looked cute, that's all that matters!_

"Ah! Mommy, do you know what game we're in?" Kazusa asked, dusting off her overalls.

Karin looked around at her surroundings, which were oddly familiar. She stared at one of the peppermint trees for a short while, narrowing her eyes.

_Could it be, we're in..._

"Sugar Rush...I think we're in Sugar Rush." Karin nodded. "Yeah, that must be it. And this must be the Candy Cane Forest."

"Candy Cane Forest, huh? Is this whole place made of candy, or something?" Kazune asked, glancing around. Kazusa gasped, touching a lock of her hair and closing her mouth around a lollipop.

"Mommy! Daddy! Look, there's candy in my hair."

Kazune's eyes grew wide, "Wow..! How did that get there...?" Kazune took a lollipop out of her hair, unwrapped it, and stuck it in his mouth. Kazusa giggled and Kazune smiled sweetly at her laugh.

_She really looks so much like him..._

"Ladies and gentleman!"

Karin, Kazusa, and Kazune turned to glance around, trying to figure out what the voice in the distance was coming from. Karin walked up the mountain and pushed the trees apart to get a better view of what was beyond the forest.

She had to squint to see, but in the center of the land were the words "Sugar Rush," where the Sugar Rush Speedway was located. And surrounding that were the other parts of the race track - Diet Cola Mountain, the laffy taffy vines over the nesquick sand pit in the distance, the kart factory, the Sugar Rush castle, Gumball Gorge, Cakeway, and Frosty Rally.

"Our next race will begin after this 15 minute break!" a girl yelled, her voice echoing through the land to successfully reach all ears, present or not in the stand. Karin's eyes wandered up to the sky, where a picture was being projected. In the picture was a girl, no older than Kazusa's age, dressed in Venellope Von Schweetz's ( an original Sugar Rush racer) outfit - a mint green hoodie, a black skirt, mint green and white striped knee socks, black boots...

In fact, this young girl looked similar to Venellope - she had the sprinkles in her black hair and ponytail, the pink cheeks, the smug smile - only, her eyes were a deep red and flashed with mischief.

Karin stared at "Venellope's" eyes for a second and something inside of her sparked. She closed her eyes and saw an image of a baby in her arms with curly black hair being kissed on the cheek by what looked to be a 3 year old Kazusa.

Kazusa squeezed passed Karin to look up at the picture, and immediately, the young girl's blue eyes widened and lit up. She pointed at the girl dressed like Venellope. Karin opened her eyes and scratched her head in confusion at the sudden image.

"Rika-chan!" Kazusa yelled.

Karin turned to look wide eyed at Kazusa, "You know her?"

"I sort of remember a bit of her face... and her name, but that's all..." Kazusa looked a little sad.

_So, the people behind this whole thing didn't erase all of her memories... is it a good thing Kazusa remembers I'm her mother?_

"Maybe we should go down there." Kazune sighed. "She looks oddly familiar to me, too."

"Do you think she's the next Rune Knight?"

The Sugar Rush theme began to play again.

_"tsurai koto toki ni wa aru yo nebokutachi wa soredemo hashiru yoamai mono demo ikaga？  
S-U-G-A-R! Jump into your racing car! Say SUGAR RUSH! SUGAR RUSH! (Hey!)"_

Karin, Kazune, and Kazusa gave quick glances at each other before continuing on toward the Sugar Rush speedway.

* * *

It had only been a short while before they finally reached their destination. The threesome stood between the stands full of Taffyta Muttonfudge's fans and the stand full of popcorn people. They peered through the thin passage way to see the racers were getting their karts fixed and re-fueled for the next race.

Karin glanced around for "Rika" and finally spotted her speaking to Adorabeeze Winterpop.

"I found her!" Karin yelled over the fans' cheering, "I don't know what to say, though!"

Kazune gave her a gentle push, "Since we recognize her, she definitely has to be the one we're looking for! Just ask her for her name and she may or may not give you a trial. These levels aren't easy, we both know that."

Karin blinked, "What kind of trial?"

He shrugged, "I don't know... just ask her to race you. Trust me."

Karin gulped. She'd never driven before... she hadn't even thought about it, actually.

"There's not much time! You should speak to her before the next race begins!"

Karin turned around, but Kazune grabbed her arm.

"Oh, one second..."

Karin gasped as he blocked the sun from leaning in close to her and watched him as he closed his eyes. Blushing, she felt him lean into her before grabbing one of her red cheeks and slowly snaking his tongue across a spot not far from the corner of her mouth.

Her draw dropped as she watched him with wide eyes when he pulled away. He blinked, innocently.

"You had chocolate on your cheek." he said simply, grinning.

Karin turned red, turning on her heel and racing off to go speak to Rika.

_You're kidding me - that was on my cheek the whole time!? How embarrassing! Oh, my god, he licked me!_

"Uh- Excuse me!?" Karin yelled in Rika's direction. The conversation immediately dropped as the dark haired kid whirled around to find the owner of the voice. When she spotted Karin, her eyes widened in surprise before the rubies shimmered with tears.

"Mom!" Rika dropped her racer's helmet and took off in Karin's direction. The teenager could do nothing but watch in awe as the little girl launched herself into Karin's arms.

No sooner had this girl started hugging Karin did a memory box appear atop her head.

**"+1 MEMORY."**

Karin reached up to touch the ribbon on the box before pulling on it.

* * *

_"Z-Zeus, I can't take anymore! I don't think I can do this... Ahh!"_ _Excruciating pain in Aphrodite's stomach toward the opening in between her legs tore through her like a thousand knives. Her body was covered in beads of sweat, her hair a long blond blanket pulled back from her head from her mother stroking it. _

_Zeus' eyes were full of both hope and worry as he searched Aphrodite's eyes. He didn't like seeing her suffering in such pain, but there was nothing he could do but encourage her. Aphrodite gripped his hand for dear life, nearly crushing the bones in his fingers._

_She let out another scream full of agony, shutting her eyes tight and begging the doctor to make it stop. Her sisters held her legs open as she panted and they encouraged her to keep going._

_"Aphrodite, you listen to me!" Kirika said, gripping Aphrodite's ankle, "You have to do this! Don't you dare give up now!"_

_Aphrodite's mother whispered words of encouragement in her daughter's ear, pulling her hair that stuck to her forehead out of her face. Zeus gripped Aphrodite's hand back just as tightly as she currently was._

_She stared into his soft blue eyes full of worry for her and her neon green eyes flashed back._

_She wanted so badly to yell at him for doing this to her, but what could she do? In a way, it was just as much her fault as it was his._

_"But it h-hurts! Ohh! Ahhhh..! Ugh!" she shook her head from side to side, tears pouring down the sides of her face. She let out another scream before catching her breath and pushing as hard as she could for this horrible moment to end._

_10 seconds passed, and she stopped to rest. Her doctor applauded when he realized she was almost finished._

_"I can see the head!" he shouted over and over, "You're doing great!"  
Zeus leaned over to whisper in Aphrodite's ear, "Don't give up on me, darling. Not now, I need you to stay stronger than ever. Please, don't give up on our child."_

_The young goddess gripped his hand, glanced at her family surrounding her, and held her breath before pushing harder than she ever had without rest. The doctor grabbed the towel and reached in between her legs to help pull the baby out._

_Several things happened after that last push._

_Aphrodite not only felt the pain subsiding, but the weight was gone and something she'd been carrying for 9 months had finally slipped out of her. She let out a great sigh when she heard a high pitched shriek echo through the room and throughout her castle. It was so loud she could have sworn the whole kingdom was alert from the cry._

_She relaxed both her body and her grip on Zeus' hand, pushing her fingers through the spaces between his, where they fit perfectly. She clasped her hand to his as her sisters slowly dropped her legs and the doctor worked fast to wrap the baby in warmth._

_A moment later, Zeus was holding their baby in his arms before Aphrodite whined for her._

_"Let me see her! I want to see my baby Rika..." she shouted weakly, but warningly. Zeus laughed, slowly handing the baby over to it's mother. Aphrodite cradled the red faced infant in her arms, lightly brushing her fingers through her daughter's small tufts of dark hair._

_"Hello, little Princess..." Aphrodite sighed, leaning down to kiss her daughter on her forehead._

* * *

_I gave BIRTH to her.._

Karin stared down at the child who had made her topple to the ground under the sudden weight.

"Rika..?"

"Mom!" Rika looked up at Karin with sparkling red eyes, a smile crossing her face. "I missed you so much! They tried to erase my memories, but I still remember so much! I was waiting so long for you to come and save me, Mommy!" she started crying.

Karin helped her up and let Rika hug her again.

"What's this, audience?! Looks like a **reunion between a mother and daughter! We certainly can't have this, now can we?"**

Rika hid behind Karin, who realized the person speaking into the microphone had changed it's tone into something more monstrous. Rika began to shake alongside Karin.

"Rika, what's going on?" Karin asked, looking up. All of the characters - even the fans, were turning into candy monsters with sinister grins - and they were making their way toward them.

"King Candy doesn't like it when the racers do something out of line. Everyone's programmed to destroy you if they see you, or anyone that enters the game that isn't supposed to! We need to run!" she yelled.

Karin looked around for Kazune, who had lifted Kazusa on his shoulder and was running away from a bunch of ice cream zombies.

"Karin! Quick, get into one of the karts, we need to get out of here!" Kazune pointed to something on the top of Diet Cola mountain. A ray of light was shining down on the giant soda bottle, and around them, at the edges of the land of Sugar Rush, the bytes of the game were disappearing and vanishing into thin air.

Without a second thought, Karin summoned her honey blade, slicing through a crowd of zombies that were getting too close. Kazune grabbed Rika, swung her over his shoulder, and jumped onto a banana cream pie motorcycle, holding the girls and placing them in front of him on the seat.

"Come on, Karin!" he yelled, outstretching his hand. The girls sat behind him, Rika wrapping her arms around his middle and Kazusa holding Rika in the same position. Karin blushed. The only place left for her to sit was in Kazune's lap.

_Oh, man..._

Red faced, Karin dodged a knife made out of peanut brittle that King Candy had thrown at her and ran to take Kazune's offer, settling in his lap and wrapping her hands around the handles of the motorcycle.

"Everyone, hold on tight!" Karin yelled, glancing behind her. The Sugar Rush land was being ripped apart as they spoke. The zombies were pulled into the air and vanished before her eyes.

"Alright! Here we go!"

Karin started the ignition and took off, leaving the zombies far behind her. Her hair whipped behind her and she heard Rika and Kazusa screaming behind her as they sped at the greatest speed she'd ever moved through.

"Wooooo!" Karin yelled at the top of her lungs, speeding up. Before she knew it, the regular track was left behind to be torn apart while they moved into Gum ball Gorge. Karin swerved this way and that to avoid the giant gum balls rolling down the hills toward them.

"Karin, we need to speed up!" Kazune yelled. Karin frowned, unable to hear him over the wind.

"What?!" She screamed.

"Speed up!" Kazune yelled.

"No, don't speed up, we're gonna die!" Kazusa wailed.

Karin pulled back harder on the motorcycle, speeding them up so everything was just a blur. The absolute thrill of the reality around her caused her to let out a trail of laughs.

Kazusa was hanging on for dear life in the back of the motorcycle. Kazune turned around in time to grasp her arm before she flew away. He lost balance himself and realized he would have to hold on to something.

Karin bit back a gasp when she felt his arm wrap around her from behind, pressing himself against her tightly.

She glanced down at Kazune's arm before looking back at the road, her heart pounding excitedly with something different now. Another giggle escaped her lips.

"Sorry, we're about to blow away back here!" Kazune laughed a little nervously.

"No, it's fine! Ahhhhh!" Karin sped up, nearly doing a wheelie. There was a ramp in the distance that sent them flying through the air, avoiding the nesquick sand and landing them safely in the forest. Karin tore through the trees, cut corners, until finally.

"This is it, guys! Off to Level 4!" Karin glanced behind her at the abyss of nothing tearing at the rest of Sugar Rush land.

"Karin, it's getting closer!"

"Right, Kazune-kun!"

"Aaaah! Mom, we need to hurry!"

"Right!" Karin was out of the forest now, a ramp in the distance that would send her atop the Diet Cola bottle toward the ray of light that was the portal.

The 4 of them screamed in unison as they flew threw the air, the motorcycle dropping to crash on the ground as they were launched toward the light, and they all sighed in relief when they stopped moving and were pulled upward out of Sugar Rush land.

Rika floated over to Karin, wrapping her arms around her.

"That was amazing, Mom, you're so cool!"

Karin laughed, grabbing onto Kazune's hand as he threw his arm around Kazusa's waist and pulled the little girl into his chest.

"Wow, Karin, that was so cool! Even though I thought we were going to crash and die!" Kazune laughed, squeezing her hand gently.

"Really? Thanks! 'Cause that was so much fun, I'm happy we made it out alive!" her cheeks turned red as they were pulled into Level 4.

**Level 3 : COMPLETE.**

* * *

Author's Note : Sorry, it's not perfect, but at least the story's been updated! I really wanted to, so I kind of threw this all together, so sorry, if it was a little quick..


End file.
